San Francisco has long been known as a tolerant center for gays and lesbians. Now the city has a new museum that traces their cultural history.

Don Romesburg

The new GLBT History Museum officially opened on Jan. 13th, and co-curator Don Romesburg says it drew immediate attention, not just locally, but internationally.

See pictures of exhibits taken at the opening night, here.

The GLBT History Museum is located at 4127 18th Street in San Francisco, and open 11-7 Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 5 pm on Sunday.

Even before the first western men reached California, the natural environment was altered by the presence of native people. In an impressive work of historical ecology, Laura Cunningham illustrates what the state might have looked like then—or even hundreds of years earlier.

Laura Cunningham, at work on an aquatic muralAs she began her inquiries into the historic landscapes around her east bay home, artist and naturalist Laura Cunningham soon found that even some of what she had thought of as the natural flora was comparatively new to the area.

The role of Native Americans in managing the natural landscape for their own ends has long been overlooked or underestimated by many anthropologists. In her research, Cunningham was fortunate to learn from some tribal elders whose knowledge of their regions far outstripped that of academic "experts."

At several points in A State of Change, Cunningham highlights the contrast between her historic landscapes and the present day by showing the same scene as it is now, and the way it could have appeared centuries ago. This example is in present day downtown Oakland.

Native Americans across the continent were adept at using fire to manage the landscape to their benefit. Here, Cunninghma envisions that practice as applied to a tidal marsh.

The key question now about climate change: What will the planet be like in 50 years, if warming can be stopped that soon?

We're long past the point where those who question global climate change can be called skeptics, contends writer and reporter Mark Hertsgaard. His term for them is climate cranks, and he set out to confront a few of them on Capital Hill this week. Some of those encounters were documented in the video below. He has als posted his list of America's Top 5 Climate Cranks.

Hertsgaard has no illusions that such confrontations will change the minds of any of the participants. But he does hope to alter the tenor of the conversations about the climate  change issue to ensure it is given more serious consdieration.

In his new book, Hot, Hertsgaard looks beyond the political aspects of the climate change issue to try and imagine what the consequences will look like half a century from now, and how humankind will be coping with them.

Mark Hertsgaard with daughter KiaraTaking a long-term perspective on climate chante is essential, Hertsggaard argues, because even a best case scenario isn't likely to slow global warming to a point of stabilization for another 50 years.

Mark Hertsgaard will talk about Hot at Book Passages in Corte Madera on Friday, Feb. 18 at 7 pm.

Time banks don't have vaults or cashiers or ATM machines. They don't make loans or even let you write checks. But they do give value to your skills and talents, while serving as a vehicle to bring people together.

By focusing on what the individual has to offer the community around them, observes the Napa Time Bank's Juliane Poirier, people with all kinds of abilities and experience are valued.

Click on these links for information about the Sonoma County Time Bank or the Napa Time Bank. There is also a national organization, Time Banks USA.